The Taoiseach was urged to abandon his natural "conservative instinct" and be brave in seeking to resolve the deadlock over the new EU constitution, even at the risk of failure.
The former Labour Party leader, Mr Ruairí Quinn, said that if the prospect of failure deters the Taoiseach from intervening courageously in the impasse, then the Irish presidency "will be a disaster". Speaking during a three-hour Dáil debate on Ireland's presidency of the EU, which continues until June, Mr Quinn said there was a "frightening lack of ambition in public" by Mr Ahern and his Government to save the constitution that was "so tantalisingly close" to agreement before the breakdown of the Intergovernmental Conference.
The Taoiseach, however, said that "if it appears at any time that agreement is achievable, you may be assured that we will seize that opportunity".
Opening the debate, Mr Ahern said the Government was attempting to encourage a spirit of compromise and commitment and to build the consensus necessary for agreement. He stressed that "this is an issue of the highest priority for our presidency and we will spare no effort and leave no stone unturned to make progress during our term".
Mr Quinn said the Taoiseach knew that agreement was very close "but that fact should be proclaimed aloud in public", rather than establishing privately in the corridors of Brussels whether or not it is possible. Mr Ahern had a reputation for intervening only when he knew a positive outcome was possible, but he had to do more than that.
He requested that the Taoiseach "be brave about the IGC. Risk the possibility of failure for the prospect of success.
"Distrust your natural conservative instincts and go for the big prize which will not only be great for you but wonderful for the rest of the Union."
Comparing Ireland as a small EU state to the small stones of the walls in the west of Ireland, he said "the strength of the stone wall is provided by the big stones but the unique, architectural creativity of such masterpieces of natural architecture is the stability provided by the small ones".
Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, stressed that while Ireland was a small country it was "not inconsequential".
He said that if Ireland "a tiny island on the Union's western edge, can broker conclusion of agreement on a constitution for Europe, it would offer hope and example to the many small nations joining us. We could be a perfect example of the strength of Europe, how a small nation can help redirect the path, perhaps even the destiny of an entire continent."
Labour leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, had accused the Government of having a less than ambitious agenda, with "no explicit reference to the principal issue confronting the Union, the successful conclusion of the IGC and ratification of a new constitution".
He said that the Government had hoped to "bask" in the "reflected glory" of formal enlargement of the EU but it had been "dealt a dossier that it might have wished might not have passed to it", in the EU constitution.
The Labour leader said, however, that "we need a good constitution rather than any old constitution at all". He believed that what they had was "something of a curate's egg at best, good in party with many major problems and not simply for Germany".
Fine Gael's foreign affairs spokesman, Mr Gay Mitchell, said the greatest benefits for Ireland as an EU member were not the ones traditionally emphasised and that Ireland only became truly sovereign when it joined the EU.
